Simple as that.

I have the engagement ring I gave my ex-wife. There really isn't any reason for me to keep the ring/diamond, except to give to a future wife, but that would be kinda creepy. So I think I'll sell it. Diamond is worth maybe $5k, which I'd like to have about now.

Where can I take it, aside from a pawn shop, that will give me a decent price? Do jewelers usually give cash? The one I bought it from only gives store credit. I'd like to get as close to it's actual value as possible (obviously).

ebay with a high reserve maybe?

bad juju.

Dude..the deal with engagement rings is you lose money...no way you're getting anywhere near 5k for a "used" ring.

Pawn shop will offer the least amount. Place a classified and sell it yourself.

in philadelphia its worth 50 bucks

Originally posted by boxered
Dude..the deal with engagement rings is you lose money...no way you're getting anywhere near 5k for a "used" ring.

Pawn shop will offer the least amount. Place a classified and sell it yourself.

Understood - not looking to get what I paid, just looking to get the most possible.

Anyone ever sold something like this on eBay? Experience?

The only way you'll get the full value is if you keep it and then trade in on a new purchase. But even then you usually have to spend 2x as much to get the full value.

Do you have paperwork for it?? IGI certificates??

I'll just jump in here since I'm in a very similar situation...

I would put mine on eBay, but I don't have much of a rating since I've never sold anything there before, so I don't know how much interest I'd get.

Originally posted by donjuan
Do you have paperwork for it?? IGI certificates??

I have a really old appraisal certificate for it (lists color, cut, clarity, etc). Don't know if it has any official certification though.

That being the case I'd say an independent jeweller who does the buy/sell thing would be your best bet. It probably wouldn't sell well on ebay without much documentation. A small jeweller will screw you, but not as much as a pawn shop.

Who did you buy it from??

Sell it on NASIOC.

That's where I bought the engagement ring I gave my girl. :)

(super bonus points if anyone remembers who I got it from)

I'd go back to the jeweler, case, ring receipt and hat in hand and ask to return it minus a 10% 'restocking' fee. Find a female clerk/manager and say the girl said no. Cut some onions in the parking lot just before entering the mall for maximal effect or think of dead kittens.

If that doesn't work then the next thing I'd do is eBay because the world is full of suckers and eBay is like a personal blackhole on earth. Set the reserve at $100 below what you bought it fo then watch the dummies bid it up. Take a picture of it with some girl in a bathing suit or some other TT showing getup. She does not have to be hawt...or even a female for that matter.

If that doesn't work then do a private sale via consignment with a high end jeweler. They'll take 20% but thats not too bad considering you were willing to pay a 10% restocking fee just two paragraphs ago.

Never take stuff to a pawn shop. Just like trading in your car to the dealer is a bad idea, pawn shops should be avoided at all costs for moving product. Reason being they buy low and sell at profit.

Worst comes to worst, save it for the next girl.
There's nothing wrong with that.

- Janq

Hold on to it until you find a girl to give it to. Then have them melt the band down and re-set the diamond in a new band. Make cufflinks from the old band.

Originally posted by theJrod
I have a really old appraisal certificate for it (lists color, cut, clarity, etc). Don't know if it has any official certification though.

What are the attributes? My cousin works for DeBeers in SA. If you send me the info, I can get an appraisal as to what it's selling value might be.

Originally posted by Janq
Worst comes to worst, save it for the next girl.
There's nothing wrong with that.

well, they were married though. even if he unmounts the stone(s) and ditches the ring, I can understand the desire to not re-use it.

Originally posted by rogue
Sell it on NASIOC.

That's where I bought the engagement ring I gave my girl. :)

(super bonus points if anyone remembers who I got it from)


Andrew?

Originally posted by Janq
I'd go back to the jeweler, case, ring receipt and hat in hand and ask to return it minus a 10% 'restocking' fee. Find a female clerk/manager and say the girl said no. Cut some onions in the parking lot just before entering the mall for maximal effect or think of dead kittens.



:lol: bahhahahaha

Wouldn't work, but very funny.

You actually got it back? My ex just had hers re sized and wears it on a different finger now.


FTW

Originally posted by incorporeal
You actually got it back? My ex just had hers re sized and wears it on a different finger now.


FTW

Classy

Originally posted by Brad Pittiful
in philadelphia its worth 50 bucks

But his ring tells time simultaneously in Monte Carlo, Beverley Hills, London, Paris, Rome and Gstaad!

Originally posted by m750
Andrew?
Curses! :lol: Nice work

Originally posted by WHTWRX
Excellent advice. Hell, get your ear pierced and wear the diamond.

winnA/2

Originally posted by Kaiser
But his ring tells time simultaneously in Monte Carlo, Beverley Hills, London, Paris, Rome and Gstaad!
But only two of those people have special rings....

YEAH! ZWHEEEEEEEEEEE!

The problem is you already got ripped off at the sale. (retails on diamonds is 200-300% profit margin) So if you sell to a buyer with intention to sell it, they want to make money on it and they'll give you even less. Take the advice sell it on ebay, local paper, ect but never go to the pawn shop. That's for crack heads that need a hit and will let crap go for free. ;)

If you do go the ebay route make sure you make a funny story so its can get hundreds of thousands of views and watch the money come in... Spend a couple days coming up with a story or let us help.. Take a picture of you modeling the ring too...

Originally posted by Jasvboost
The problem is you already got ripped off at the sale. (retails on diamonds is 200-300% profit margin) So if you sell to a buyer with intention to sell it, they want to make money on it and they'll give you even less...

Such is the problem with buying at retail prices.
Even with stores cheesy 10-30% off sales they are making a butt load of profit off stuff.

Diamonds are actually worthless and the price assigned to them is nothing more than what the sucker market wil bear. They have no intrinsic value.

Life lesson: Don't buy the diamond untill you are super sure and if you do, don't fall for the DeBeers marketing machine and go bust to buy one.

- Janq

Yes, go find a gemologist who can give you a much better price than a mall jeweler.

Janq: sing it, brother!

I read all about spending 8 months of your salary pre-tax on the engagement ring, then spending 2.5 years of your gross adjusted income on the wedding ring, and just said "screw that."

I got a nice looking ring at a nice price. This weekend, we had it modified with a new stone. The diamond was removed and used to create a wedding ring, which she'll switch to when we get married. It looks great and saved a ton of money.

Originally posted by rogue
But only two of those people have special rings....

YEAH! ZWHEEEEEEEEEEE!

I've read that three times now and still don't get it. :huh: :( :mad: :)

Originally posted by Kaiser
But his ring tells time simultaneously in Monte Carlo, Beverley Hills, London, Paris, Rome and Gstaad!

How much for the gun?

Originally posted by Janq
Such is the problem with buying at retail prices.
Even with stores cheesy 10-30% off sales they are making a butt load of profit off stuff.

Diamonds are actually worthless and the price assigned to them is nothing more than what the sucker market wil bear. They have no intrinsic value.

Life lesson: Don't buy the diamond untill you are super sure and if you do, don't fall for the DeBeers marketing machine and go bust to buy one.

- Janq

The thing is, Janq, most people have no choice but to buy retail. Most places don't have wholesale market or they are not easy to access. And, it isn't necessarily wise to buy a diamond over the net. As for mall locations versus independant jewelers - absolutely stay away from the mall. But remember, DeBeers sells the EXACT SAME diamonds to Tiffany's as they do to Zales.

Originally posted by Kaiser
I've read that three times now and still don't get it. :huh: :( :mad: :)
It's a simpsons reference, from when Homer joins the Stonecutters. Your reference to a cool ring made me think of it.

Originally posted by Sharkbait
The thing is, Janq, most people have no choice but to buy retail. Most places don't have wholesale market. And, it isn't necessarily wise to buy a diamond over the net. As for mall locations versus independant jewelers - absolutely stay away from the mall. But remember, DeBeers sells the EXACT SAME diamonds to Tiffany's as they do to Zales.

I've said it before, and got clowned.
I'll say it again...and probably will be clowned.

http://www.mauigateway.com/~rw/img/costco.jpg

- Janq rarely pays retail for anything

Originally posted by tommy2hotty
If you do go the ebay route make sure you make a funny story so its can get hundreds of thousands of views and watch the money come in... Spend a couple days coming up with a story or let us help.. Take a picture of you modeling the ring too...

Good idea! Dream up some sob story, with some humor...have I ROBOT write it! Or OLMEK!

And then have it GIA appraised/documented...you'll be golden!

Originally posted by mms4ba
Good idea! Dream up some sob story, with some humor...have I ROBOT write it! Or OLMEK!

And then have it GIA appraised/documented...you'll be golden!

Remember the guy with the wedding dress or the mom who is selling her kids ps2? It will help..

Originally posted by Janq
I've said it before, and got clowned.
I'll say it again...and probably will be clowned.

http://www.mauigateway.com/~rw/img/costco.jpg

- Janq

I've never been. I don't think they have one here. But, I just got a card from some warehouse place called BJs, that is supposed to be similar. Maybe, we'll check that out when shopping. (And YES, we've been ducking into jewelry stores recently. YEAH!!)

Nice name, though. Someone didn't speak up during any of those "let's come up with a name for our new store" meetings? Jeez.

Originally posted by rogue
(super bonus points if anyone remembers who I got it from)

b_tapper?

Originally posted by tommy2hotty
Remember the guy with the wedding dress or the mom who is selling her kids ps2? It will help..

I wasn't being sarcastic (for once)!

Originally posted by mms4ba
I wasn't being sarcastic (for once)!

Yea I know I was just adding those for references and was too lazy to edit. And Costco was renamed when it was bought out by the people form China or Japan.

Originally posted by Sharkbait
I've never been. I don't think they have one here. But, I just got a card from some warehouse place called BJs, that is supposed to be similar. Maybe, we'll check that out when shopping. (And YES, we've been ducking into jewelry stores recently. YEAH!!)

Nice name, though. Someone didn't speak up during any of those "let's come up with a name for our new store" meetings? Jeez.

Yep BJ's, Sam's Club and Costco are all the exact same thing...warehouse member discount purchasing clubs.

I'm an 'Executive' member of Costco (business) and they do for sure sell diamond settings in many beautiful and varying cuts, clairy, color and cost. We bought one there but Mrs. Janq ended up returning it two years later (100% money return!) and had her grandmothers wedding stone set in a new ring.

Check you local discount house as they too might have them.
If not, then a tirp to NYC is usually just a few hundred bucks for the day by plane round trip on special. Visit the diamond district and save your self a bundle. If you can afford to spend $5K on a retail diamond then a $200 plane ticket is nothing to save a grand or more on a loose stone purchase.

- Janq

Originally posted by Janq

Check you local discount house as they too might have them.
If not, then a tirp to NYC is usually just a few hundred bucks for the day by plane round trip on special. Visit the diamond district and save your self a bundle. If you can afford to spend $5K on a retail diamond then a $200 plane ticket is nothing to save a grand or more on a loose stone purchase.

- Janq

I've got that covered. My family works (and has worked) for DeBeers in SA for over 75 years.

:)

Originally posted by Sharkbait
I've got that covered. My family works (and has worked) for DeBeers in SA for over 75 years.

:)

No surprise there...
And it explains your position toward my posts about diamonds in the past.

Thats like a person being from a long line of folks living in the Detroit 'Motor City' saying they get a discount on domestic iron.
Thats great, but for the rest of us on the planet who aren't so fortunate there is always Costco or a trip to NYC. :p

- Janq

Originally posted by Janq
No surprise there...
And it explains your position toward my posts about diamonds in the past.

Thats like a person being from a long line of folks living in the Detroit 'Motor City' saying they get a discount on domestic iron.
Thats great, but for the rest of us on the planet who aren't so fortunate there is always Costco or a trip to NYC. :p

- Janq

Yeah, I take that stuff personally because most people don't know anything about the industry beyond what the media and news spews out. My dad didn't work directly with stones. He was in charge of the rail shipping (railroad) lines in and out of the locations. However, my cousin who currently works for them is a sales guy with some skills! His territory is Western Europe, so he deals with selling the rough -uncut stones. He's got one of the briefcases with the handcuff and everything!

Originally posted by Sharkbait
...most people don't know anything about [anything] beyond what the media and news spews out.

http://www.geo.ucalgary.ca/~malcolm/sheep.jpg

- Janq

Originally posted by rogue
It's a simpsons reference, from when Homer joins the Stonecutters. Your reference to a cool ring made me think of it.

So you decided you'd mess up our Trading Places references with a Simpsons one? Bastid.

Originally posted by Sharkbait
Yeah, I take that stuff personally because most people don't know anything about the industry beyond what the media and news spews out.

What is there to know other than it's a monopoly?:lol:

Well damn, as long as you guys are giving out advice, tell me what to do!

I need to buy a ring. Miranda picked this one out
http://www.ritani.com/rings/eng_rings/three_stone_eng_rings/1r1702/images/1r1702_pl_a_big.jpg

Its a Ritani 3 stone. Only Ritani makes it. Only sells it with the diamonds included. You cannot buy just the setting and put your own stones in it. The only places I found it is Bailey Banks & Biddle, and Finks. They both want $6000 for a 1.3 carat total weight (1.0 carat between the 3 stones, 0.35 between the 72 full cut small diamonds) E color, VS1 clarity and their "ideal cut" (don't remember the exact percentages). GIA Certified.

I don't want to pay $6000. I want to pay $4000. I figured I can get 10% off by just talking them down, but can't get any more of a discount then that.....

The guy here http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/ told me he can make me an exact copy of the ring w/o the Ritani signature but hasn't given me a price yet. He said I wouldn't be able to tell between the two. We can also put G color, VS1 diamonds in it, so it will be a bit cheaper. I'm thinking this guy will be around $4000. Is something like that a ripoff?

What to do????
-Tom

Originally posted by trhoppe
I don't want to pay $6000. I want to pay $4000. I figured I can get 10% off by just talking them down, but can't get any more of a discount then that.....

The guy here http://www.engagementringsdirect.com/ told me he can make me an exact copy of the ring w/o the Ritani signature but hasn't given me a price yet. He said I wouldn't be able to tell between the two. We can also put G color, VS1 diamonds in it, so it will be a bit cheaper. I'm thinking this guy will be around $4000. Is something like that a ripoff?

What to do????
-Tom

Whats the setting made of...wait, platinum I bet. :(

Get rid of the platinum and rop down to white gold and that'll save you some bucks right off the top. I'll bet thats what your off-price dude will do too. Next are the stones. BBB is crazy stupid expensive. Ask them about Mikimoto pearls and watch you girls eyeballs fall out her sockets and then yours will too once you hear how much a small & basic 'starter'r single strand choker runs. :( BBB charges a very high markup. Look into a NY supplier and personally I wouldn't buy/comission anything sight unseen....and always have any work & stones reviewed by an independent appraiser before finalizing purchase or with a 100% return guarantee should they not be up to snuff.

If it were me I'd be like; "Look man. These people have the crazy prices. $6K is going to go much further in a house downpayment than some bauble for you to show & tell to your college roomates. I'm not Mr. Drummond, you ain't Little Orphan Annie and your daddy ain't a Warbuck. So lets either down shift to something a little less icey hot as this stunna is gonna break my blind butt if I throw this on my Visa."

Don't think for half a second I haven't had this _exact_ same conversation with my girl and said same similar when it came time to picking out a ring. I'm old school as two gold tone bands would have worked fine for me...

- Henry

So is the ring on Ebay yet??

I know two diamond brokers personally, there is no 200-300% markup on diamonds, the markup is usually very low unless your talking about selling junk diamonds to suckers, which usually doesn't happen very often.

The reason the resale of diamonds to brokers is so low is that they know you are in a bad position, they don't need to buy your diamonds, so they'll low ball you, what do they have to lose, especially with undocumented stones of unknown origin. Why bother taking the chance?

Secondly, you'll rarely get good price on ebay because most people won't trust ebay or you enough to bid on anything that valuable, especially without documentation. Undocumented diamond coming from some joe on ebay? Right, you'll get 3 bids.

Keep it or sell it to a friend you really like, otherwise get ready to bend over.. Oh, by the way, I'll offer you $100 bucks for it.

jb

Originally posted by rogue
Curses! :lol: Nice work


So... what do i win?

AO

http://www.winbeam.com/~normanb/arquette/winnar.jpg

Find an independent jeweler that MAKES their own jewelry. Talk to them for a while to see if you get good vibes, then ask if they're interested in purchasing.

For example we had my wife's wedding band custom made by a jeweler in the midwest, and not only does it cost much less than "name brand" places, you get much better quality. Plus they're usually looking for materials, so this guy was willing to give us fair amounts for old jewelry we had, even though we decided not to sell.

I agree with the thought on trying to sell it to a custom jeweler...

And if you can get your new girl to wear the old girls ring... more power to you.. but there's NO WAY I'd want a second hand ring... I'd rather have a new one out of a gumball machine than have anything to do with anyone's failed relationship... ESPECIALLY mine man's past relationship... creepy.

Oh... and for a woman's .02 on rings and such... a real girl doesn't just want a piece of bling for her finger... if that's all she's worried about... and you aren't ready to hand over your wallet with the ring... you might want to rethink her reasons for the union... IMHO for those few guys who pipped up about some serious bling rings that they had to actually 'talk' to their women about lowering expectations.

Seriously... I mean... am I the only person left that thinks there is more to this whole thing than the money?

This, is why I'd rather have a golden puppy, instead of a diamond.

Originally posted by TurboMonkey
I agree with the thought on trying to sell it to a custom jeweler...

And if you can get your new girl to wear the old girls ring... more power to you.. but there's NO WAY I'd want a second hand ring... I'd rather have a new one out of a gumball machine than have anything to do with anyone's failed relationship... ESPECIALLY mine man's past relationship... creepy.

Oh... and for a woman's .02 on rings and such... a real girl doesn't just want a piece of bling for her finger... if that's all she's worried about... and you aren't ready to hand over your wallet with the ring... you might want to rethink her reasons for the union... IMHO for those few guys who pipped up about some serious bling rings that they had to actually 'talk' to their women about lowering expectations.

Seriously... I mean... am I the only person left that thinks there is more to this whole thing than the money?

This, is why I'd rather have a golden puppy, instead of a diamond.

Yeah, my wife never demanded anything big and spectacular - which made me all the more inclined to give her something special. She appreciates what I gave her, though.

If I felt the need to talk her into something more affordable (or if she had demanded a ring in the first place), then I'd be walking in the other direction.